Mass Effect II: Jedi Unleashed
by LunarWolf86
Summary: AU. Galen Marek has failed to defeat his former master, Darth Vader. Everyone he has ever loved is dead. With nothing left in his life, Starkiller has become a prisoner of Vader to his bidding once more. With nothing left in the galaxy, he then learns of a new adventure in a galaxy far, far away. Shepard(M)/Miranda, Starkiller/? (Prologue I Revised)
1. Prologue I: Starkiller

_Author's notes and disclaimers:_

_LucasArts own rights to TFU, This is an exclusive contract, so I am not allowed to take any credit for most of this story. I mean it. Give them the credit. I'd rather not have bounty hunters after me._

_This is based after the event after TFU2. AU. Galen Marek fails to defeat his former master Darth Vader. The Empire has full control of the galaxy. Everyone he has ever loved is dead. With nothing left in his life, Starkiller has become a prisoner of Vader to his bidding once more. But he then learns of a new adventure in a galaxy far, far away. _

_~X~_

_**Prologue I: Starkiller**_

Starkiller opened his eyes; the sound of booted steps echoed through the halls. Conversations could be heard between the Stormtroopers from where Starkiller had been kneeling. His cell consisted of a rounded room, one door leading in and out, and seven armed guards stationed at certain points of the room. How many days he had been down the pit he no longer knew, but in that time he had neither eaten nor slept. Long stretches of isolation had attuned him to the cloning facility's many moods. Through the metal he heard a relentless hiss that could only be rain. Sharp cracking sounds were lightning, and rolling rumbles was thunder. It was definitely Kamino, he knew that much. He had been reborn on the distant waterworld, where a significant percentage of the Emperor's Stormtroopers were grown.

The hissing sound of the door brought him back to reality. Heavy boots echoed in the room as they came closer to him. He tensed; the presence that entered the room was all too familiar. It was as if the gravity in the room tripled in pressure. Shutters at the top of the room opened, letting light leak through making a spotlight directly on top of the pit and although he felt the light against his hunched back, he didn't look up. He heard breathing, mechanical and regular. The footsteps came to the lip of the pit and stopped. Aside from the mechanical breathing, silence filled the room. Starkiller finally looked up, blinking against the light. Darth Vader's boots were three meters above him, barely visible behind the lights and the grate that separated the pit from the dark room beyond.

Starkiller just hung his head and sighed, "What mission do you have for me now, _my Master?_" His emphasis on the word 'Master' indicated his hatred for the dark lord. Vader didn't answer, instead a gloved hand moved, making the grate fly open. The metal floor beneath Starkiller lurched and began to ascend. He tried to stand but couldn't thanks to the chains welded to the floor and cuffed to his wrists. The lift grounded to a halt and Vader stepped back to study him. Starkiller felt the keen eye of the Sith Lord on his gaunt form even through the durasteel, obsidian and plasteel that covered his face.

The room above was sparsely furnished, with no windows except the shutters on the ceiling. The dark lord loomed like a shadow, a black hole in the shape of a robed man. "The rebels have scattered in fear. The remaining Jedi in the galaxy defeated if not hiding, all thanks to you." Starkiller felt his heart drop, doing Vader's bidding made him feel sick. "You have served your purpose well, my apprentice. But I have no further use for you." Vader turned on his heel and started walking towards the exit. "Kill him." He said to the guards. As the door close behind him, the seven Stormtroopers stepped forward and, closer to Starkiller and aimed their blasters at him. It was only for a moment, but Starkiller caught a glimpse of a pair of lightsabers latched on one of the Stormtroopers belts.

"Fire!" Starkiller shut his eyes tight and reached out to the Force. In a split second, he closed the shutters in the room, broke free from his chains, and pulled his lightsabers into his hands. The Stormtroopers opened fire, hitting only the metal ground. "What happened?! Where is he?!" The room was dark, only the red lights along the wall illuminated it but was barely helping. Starkiller activated one lightsaber and took down one of the troopers, then deactivating it while disappearing back into the darkness. More blaster fire echoed as he took down two more Stormtroopers the same way as before. He took down three more but this time he left his lightsabers activated. Now only one Stormtrooper stood between him and the exit. Two shots were fired; they were easily blocked, then Starkiller stabbed his sabers through both the trooper and then, finishing him off by slicing him into three pieces.

The door hissed open, allowing Starkiller to exit his cell and into the lift. The ride up was brief as the doors opened, greeting him with two more Stormtroopers. He took them both down quickly, but had no time to breath. The cry from an Incinerator War Droid caught his attention from down the hallway. He charged at it as the droid ignited its flamethrower and blasted a wave of fire at him. Starkiller dropped to his knees and using the Force to push himself under and passed the droid, he then pushed himself up into the air in a back-flip motion. Activating his lightsaber, he sliced the fuel tank that was attached to the droids back, then finally, to finish it off he flipped himself right side up then released Force Lightning at the damaged tank making both it and the droid explode. He landed on his feet and continued walking down the hallway.

_Vader has betrayed me for the last time. _He thought to himself. He found another lift and took it up another level. The lift slowed to a halt and he ripped the door open with a Force Push. Alarms rang as he stepped into a large empty room. But it wasn't empty for long as pockets opened up in the floor and lifts ascended with Stormtroopers and droids on them. And there were a lot of them. They rushed him from all sides, Starkiller just stood his ground and activated both his lightsabers this time, twin blue blades flashed as he met their advance, spinning and slashing with an easy grace that belied the strength behind it. Mastery of the Jar'Kai dual-lightsaber fighting style hadn't come easy, even given his inherited knowledge of the Niman and Ataru techniques. Using two blades came with both advantages and disadvantages. Although he could attack or defend himself against more than one opponent at once, he could only wield his lightsabers one-handed, reducing the power of his blows. So building up his strength had been a key part of his training. Using simple weights, combat training with droids, as well as dueling the Dark Lord himself. He continued slashing away, killing one trooper after the other. He Force Gripped one of the War Droids, crushed it, and then flung it across the room into a good amount of Stormtroopers. As the number of Stormtroopers increased, it would only be a matter of time before he was overrun by too much. So, he deactivated his lightsabers and gathered as much Force power as he could. With a mighty war cry, he released it all into a shockwave, blasting all the Stormtroopers away, as well as incinerating the ones who were point blank.

He straightened himself and holstered his lightsabers onto his chest harness. He was given a brief moment to catch his breath until the screech of a Terror Walker droid shifted his focus. The giant spider like droid screeched again as the green glow of its face changed to a golden yellow. Then without warning, it fired its cutting lasers at him. Staying calm, but thinking quickly, Starkiller caught the blast in his right hand. He held it there for a moment until he retaliated with his force lightning. The blast made the droid stagger back. Taking the opening he created, he charged forward. Activating his lightsabers again, he threw them and guided them with the Force, making them cut a chunk of the droids leg completely off. He then jumped high into the air and landed on the droids head. He reached out and summoned his lightsabers to his hands then began stabbing at the droid repeatedly. As the droid tried to shake him off, he sliced the cutting lasers off, along with another one of its legs as he jumped off and back onto the ground. He Force gripped the droid, lifting off the ground and then crushing it into pieces. He then finished the droid off by slicing its head in half, right down the middle.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled, calming himself. He holstered his sabers and walked into the final lift, taking it to the surface. _Vader can't stop me now, _he thought. _Nothing can._

~X~

The lift slowed to a halt as it came to the surface of the planet. The doors hissed open and he stepped out into an open room with windows showing the storm outside. Imperial fighters flew in formation outside. The entire galaxy was under the control of the Empire, and he had a helping hand in the take over. He looked down and spotted the _Rogue Shadow _still in one piece. Starkiller smiled and took a few paces back from the wall. The Force flowed through him and with a harsh rending sound, the metal wall burst opened, letting in the fury of the storm. Alarms went off, doors hissed open as Stormtroopers piled into the room. Starkiller leapt for the hole he had torn through the wall and entered the storm. He jumped high and long aiming for the landing platform. He came down with a solid thud on the slick metal platform, just meters from his ship. Lightning split the sky into a thousand pieces. Thunder boomed. Far below, and all around, the sea raged. The rain and wind scoured him clean. He opened his mouth and felt moisture on his tongue for the first time in days. After so long in the pit, it tasted like freedom itself.

His arrival took the squadron of Stormtroopers guarding the facility by surprise, but they reacted quickly enough. Sirens sounded. Blaster rifles came up to target him. Three AT-STs standing guard over the landing platform clanked and began to turn. Starkiller bared his teeth. He reached out with his hands and flexed his will. The Force responded, swelling and rising in him like an invisible muscle. A nearby communications tower groaned and twisted. Sparks flew. He wrenched the tower down and sideways, sweeping it over the platform, knocking the AT-STs into the ocean and crushing the Stormtroopers gathering to rush him.

Something exploded—a generator, pushed far beyond its capacity. Through the exploding shell of shrapnel stalked a black figure holding a red lightsaber. It was Vader, and he was moving with surprising speed. Starkiller almost smiled. Vaders rage was not so easily escaped. But he had done it once before. Starkiller didn't waste any time announcing his intentions. He just activated his lightsabers and charged. Only at the very last moment did Vader raise his blade to block the blow, and only even then the move seemed almost casual, disinterested. Starkiller struck again with both lightsabers. Vader blocked one blade and used the Force to steer the other off target. He then Force pushed Starkiller back. He rolled and leapt, landing on his feet.

Starkiller steadied his lightsabers in tight grips. Vader's posture did not waver; the tip of his lightsaber didn't move a millimeter. Starkiller watched it closely, waiting for the first blow to fall. His lightsabers suddenly moved as if on their own accord, sweeping forward into Vader's reach with an almost delighted hum. Their blades clashed together once, twice, three times making the Sith edge back a step. Starkiller kept pressing him, staying light on his feet for the inevitable responses, feeling with every instinct, every breath, what must be done.

Vader countered with a series of bold, vicious strikes that cost Starkiller the ground he had made, and more. "You're growing weary," said Vader, "Your resolve is weakening. I can feel it. Your only hope is to reach into your heart for the anger that we both know is there." Starkiller fought on, matching the Vader blow for blow. The red blade swung three centimeters from his face but scored a line across his right shoulder guard. "You cannot fight without the dark side." Starkiller tried silencing his thoughts and feelings. "You cannot _win_ without the dark side." They fought like the Sith Lords of old, raging back and forth across the platform, uncaring what happened around them. Starkiller maintained his efforts to get to his ship, and Vader did everything in his power to stop him. Neither would capitulate. Neither would be the first to break. Their wills were locked.

They broke apart, lightsabers hissing in the ceaseless rain. Lightning split the sky into a thousand jagged shapes. Thunder rolled. "Let...me...go," Starkiller said, sounding much calmer than he felt. "You've taken everything from me, and now you see why I won't serve you."

"You are wrong. I have given you everything." Vader answered. "It is our destiny to destroy the Emperor. You and me, together."

There it was, that promise again. Surely Darth Vader could see that it meant nothing now, after so many times offered in the past, and none of them fulfilled? Unless… A deeper layer of understanding presented itself. Unless Darth Vader felt exactly the same as he did.

What lengths had the Emperor, Darth Vader's master, gone to in order to create _him?_ And how far would Darth Vader go to get revenge? To attain his own destiny as a Sith? "The Rebels wanted to destroy the Emperor," he said. "Why not help me reform the Alliance, rather th-?"

Vader attacked before he could finish, a blistering combination of blows that left Starkiller on his back foot. Clearly he had hit a very deep nerve. Starkiller found himself backed up almost to the edge of the platform. One more step, and he would fall, and that would certainly end the fight. It needed to end now, or else it might _never_ end. Blow after blow rained one him, forcing him back. There had to be a way to free himself, but a stalemate seemed unavoidable. Any move he made was sure to lead him to an indefensible position.

Then it occurred to him. An indefensible position was exactly what he needed. He lunged; Vader saw him coming and swiped with unbeatable strength, sending Starkiller's left lightsaber flying. Starkiller lunged again, and his right lightsaber joined his left. He fell back, beaten, and stared up at his former Master.

"This is your last chance," Vader said, standing over him with the unwavering tip of his lightsaber pointed directly at Starkiller's chest. Starkiller stared up at the black mask, sure of two things. Vader didn't want to kill him, but not out of mercy or sympathy. The second thing Starkiller knew was: _The best way to beat Vader, is to let him think he's won._

With both hands, he sent a wave of lightning at his former master. Vader staggered backward, transfixed by the unexpected retaliation. Starkiller leapt to his feet and followed him, keeping up the lightning attack, and force pulling Vader's lightsaber from his temporarily weakened fingers. Sheets of energy spread out across the wet metal floor. Smoke and steam rose up in a tortured spiral. The grating whine of Vader's respirator took on a desperate edge.

Vader went down on one knee. Starkiller stood over him; pulling Vader's lightsaber swept into his hand, placing the blade at his former master's throat. He stared into the black mask, breathing heavily. One twitch of the blade and Vader would be dead at last.

Starkiller froze, remembering his time of being stabbed in the back. For several seconds the only sound from Vader's wheezing respirator and the storm around them. "If I let you live," he said, "you will haunt me forever."

"You harness immense power—but you lack the purity of will to direct it." Vader said, "I cannot be contained, I cannot be redeemed. Death is all that remains, and you will not kill me!"

Starkiller looked down at Vader, kneeling in the rain with his own lightsaber at his throat. He just sighed. _Either way, _he thought, _I've beaten him._ That was the only thing that mattered. He deactivated the lightsaber and threw it away. He then reached out to the Force and pulled his own lightsabers back to him, then holstered them. "You're right, I won't kill you. But you will answer for everything you've done." He turned on his heel and began walking to his ship; it was unharmed by the devastation he wrought. He ran to it and leapt inside, working its familiar controls with confident speed, activating systems. Its ion engines snarled.

Suddenly, an invisible fist gripped the starship. Red lights and danced across the console, the alarmed blared deafeningly. Starkiller looked out of the cockpit and saw Vader. He was back on his feet and he was trying to pull the ship back onto the platform. Starkiller increased the thrust; his determination met Vader's rage, and for an instant, he was unsure which would win.

Then, all resistance fell away, and the Rogue Shadow leapt for the sky. He check the monitor, on the screen was his former master, dropped onto one knee on the metal floor, exhausted from the fight they had just moments before. He was lucky, if Vader still had the strength to pull him back… He didn't even want to think about what would've happened.

He fell back into his seat and watched the black storm clouds approach him. Electrical discharges danced around the cockpit. Darkness briefly shrouded him. Then he was through and above the clouds and rocketing high into the atmosphere. The planetary shield surrounding Kamino was designed to keep ships out, not in, so he passed easily through their visible barrier. Stars appeared, and Vader was far behind, at last.

_~X~_

Starkiller sighed. He felt that he should be happy. He finally escaped Vader, but he lost everyone he loved. What should I do? He thought; there's nothing left for me here. Juno's gone, Kota's gone, PROXY's gone; everyone I cared about is gone. There's nothing left for me in this galaxy. The Rogue Shadow was now roaming out into space, no preset destination, and no coordinates to any system or planet. He was in his chambers, meditating, becoming one with the force. He sat crossed-legged with hands folded across his lap. While he was doing this, his two light sabers were floating around him disassembling and reassembling as he tried to focus. Soon, small things started to float into the air, tableware, and furniture, anything that could be moved.

The bottom dropped out of the hold and he was suddenly falling. His first thought was to grab hold of something and hang on, both mentally and physically. Then he noticed details highly reminiscent of the strange blue geometry of hyperspace. There was a blinding flash, and he stopped with a jerk. All was dark again.

He saw two ships of unknown origin engaged in combat, one larger then the other and the smaller one was losing; He saw a man running down the hall to the cockpit in zero-g gravity. The man arguing with the pilot helping him to the escape pod, the enemy ship charged it's cannon and fired on the smaller one, he could see the armored man sacrifice him self to launch the escape pod while he slammed out into space and drift into the unknown void. He was able to catch the name of the man who sacrificed himself for the pilot. "Shepard!"

And like that the vision was gone; his eyes snapped open while everything in the room fell to the ground his concentration and connection to the Force broken. He held his head in his hand as he tried to contemplate what and who he just saw.

His thoughts were interrupted when alarms blared throughout the ship. Climbing to his feet, he grabbed his lightsabers from the floor and rushed to the cockpit. He punched buttons in fast sequence across the instrument panel and adjusted the view screen so it pointed behind the ship. By the light of the jets, he made out a string of ships emerging from hyperspace. Star Destroyers. But how? They must have planted a tracking device on the hull of his ship while docked on Kamino. Adrenaline made his heart pound harder and faster. Yes, it made sense. He counted four in total, all launching fighters in quick order.

The cruisers were on an intercept course for the _Rogue Shadow_, tracking it's every movement. He brought the ship to full power and started to charge the hyperdrive. In the darkness of space, green bolts lanced toward the _Rogue Shadow_ barely missing but continued a sustained attack as Starkiller did everything he could to outmaneuver the enemy and escape to light speed. The enemy ships continued their relentless attacks however, and soon scored a direct hit on the port side thrusters, tearing through shield and armor with minimal resistance.

Starkiller's eyes flashed across different monitors trying to predict the enemy's attack. His options were hampered greatly due to the damage the ship sustained, and his ability to maneuver would only prolong the inevitable now. He was being over powered and running out of options, fast. The ship rocked slightly as a fighter scored a glancing blow throwing him forward in his seat.

His cannons opened up in retaliation against the offending fighter craft swarming around the _Rogue Shadow_. Several shots connected destroying multiple fighters in short order. The remaining members of the squadron harassing the Shadow kept a respectful distance easily dodging his fire. He noted the cruisers inching closer by the second; the concentrated barrage seemed to intensify more and more as they swooped in for the kill.

The sun in the system was dead ahead. And an idea quickly popped into his head. His ship was too damaged to jump to lightspeed on its own… but if he used the gravity well of the sun he might just be able to get out of the predicament he was in. _Or I could be cooked alive._ He thought grimacing. _But what options do I have?_ He hoped his ship had enough juice to get out of the gravity well as he throttled up to maximum speed. His engine screamed at him in protest but jumped the ship forward. The fighters behind him must have realized what was happening and began to chase him in earnest. The TIE's fired relentlessly as his cannons gave it everything they had. The deflector dish was pushed to its absolute limit and was on the verge of failing. Starkiller rerouted all power not going to the engines and weapons to shields trying to buy him precious seconds. His radar told him a cruiser had broken off from the enemy fleet and was plotting an intercept course coming around the opposite side of the star.

Twenty-six seconds his computer told him. That's how long he had before his hyperdrive could get him out of this ambush. The last TIE fighter blew up in a cloud of molten slag and disappeared in the fiery upper atmosphere of the star.

"Come on, come on." The seconds bled away as the heat shields of the Shadow debated with him whether to fail or not. At fifteen seconds, the other cruiser appeared in front of him at range and began another barrage towards the Shadow. Dodging as best he could, he put all power to the forward deflector dish. At ten seconds the rear cruisers had finally come around the star and began to fire at his escaping craft. A laser missed his engine by mere feet causing him to sweat bullets. A green laser bolt scored a lucky shot on the _Rogue Shadow's_ forward deflector dish throwing Starkiller hard against his harness. A new alarm sounded loud and harsh.

His navigation computer was offline, completely fried by the last shot. His mind raced, trying to figure out what he could do with his damaged ship and limited piloting skills. "Juno where are you when I need you?" The ship rocked again, a glancing blow from the cruisers behind him. Sparks flew from the panels near him, and Starkiller saw a marked decrease in his power reactor. His current power consumption was far greater than his now damaged reactor could sustain for very long. He quickly flipped off his cannons and his hand hovered over his deflector dish and shield generator. His power supply was still falling and he flipped the switch knowing full well the next shot would destroy the Shadow and him in it. But it was either that or die as his ship lost power and he was cooked to death by the sun.

Starkiller closed his eyes tapping into the force, reaching out into space, sensing where the fire was going to come from and finding a safe path through. Guiding his ship through the upper atmosphere of the sun, he dodged left and right, rolling around the turbolaser fire. Suddenly Starkiller wasn't on the _Shadow _anymore, he was back on the alien vessel watching the beam directly in front of him blast his body into space. He felt himself tumbling end over end repeatedly for several seconds before he managed to right himself. He saw his ship, a once beautiful four engine frigate being cut in half and blown into numerous pieces. How many didn't make it, he wondered as out of his peripherals he saw a steady stream of vapor. Panic swept over him as Starkiller realized his suit was punctured and he was going to suffocate in seconds. It became hard to breathe. Gasping deeply, he realized nothing had entered his lungs. His vision blurred and he couldn't breathe, Starkiller could make out the name of the ship as he lost conscience 'Normandy'.

Starkiller saw the cruiser directly in front of him filling the entire view screen. His use of the force had gotten him through the hailstorm of laser fire and he realized he had been at max speed for several seconds, the hyperdrive ready to activate. He rolled over the top of the cruiser, its turbolasers firing all the way, and activated lightspeed. He was taking a huge risk activating lightspeed without his navigation computer, but anywhere was better than here.

The stars became streaks as the _Rogue_ _Shadow_ disappeared leaving the three cruisers and the star system behind him. Letting out a sigh of relief he slowly relaxed his body. His ship was badly damaged and he needed to fix what he could quickly. The ship shuddered slightly making Starkiller raise an eyebrow and looked at his reactor power output. It was going to need a complete overhaul but it would get him to where he needed to go... he hoped. He really wished he had paid attention to Juno more when she piloted. A red light appeared on the reactor screen: it was overheating due to a faulty coolant exchange system. He quickly punched a few buttons on the control panel dumping extra coolant from the one good exchange system to keep the ship at light speed for several more minutes. He sighed and shook his head thinking about what he had seen during the fighting. The feeling of suffocating, of helplessness. And he wondered if it was a vision of things to come, or if it had already happened. And who it was he kept seeing die... this Shepard and his ship the Normandy. The _Shadow_ wasn't doing much better than the Normandy, Starkiller mused darkly as he quickly got up to head towards the reactor room to repair the coolant systems. An alarm blared for attention before he could get two steps out of the cockpit and was thrown forward as his ship decelerated from light speed.

Catching himself against his command chair, he looked out the forward screen and couldn't see anything in front of him. "What-?" He muttered trying to figure out what was going on as his ship shuddered violently being pulled in by some incredible force. He scrambled back into his chair and reversed his engines to maximum and saw a massive gravitational reading directly in front of his ship.

"Really?" He breathed realizing what was happening. His ship without navigation protocols combined with a blind jump had taken him directly to the cusp of a black hole. Another pair of alarms sounded and the three cruisers appeared behind him, much further off the black hole than he was. He shifted all power to his engines and attempted to punch his hyper drive in an emergency jump as the first turbolaser bolt hit his ship. The round cored through his ship like a light saber through a blast door. He was thrown against his front view screen hard.

He heard a loud crunch and immediate pain in his shoulder and chest. Breathing hurt. A lot. His vision swam and the doors to the bridge sealed tight pressurizing the room from the hull breach. Energy levels were falling fast. His ship was crippled. Several more laser bolts hit his ship destroying the engines and the ships cannons.

Sparks and smoke flew into the air and he could barely breathe, coughing in the smoke. A rather violent cough sent blood onto the computer consoles in front of his chair as he collapsed into it. The ship lurched and shuddered in its death throes. Starkiller sat up fighting through the pain and saw the reactor go offline and emergency power come online. His ship was now drifting into the black hole. Why was this happening? It was happening too fast. He couldn't think straight. Pain assaulted his mind as he attempted to concentrate and block it out.

_"Starkiller. You are hereby sentenced to death for crimes against the Empire."_ An audio transmission reported to him over his bridge speakers. Breathing in the smoky air, Starkiller looked at the nearest cruiser and focused on it with all his might, reaching out with the force, diving deep into the ship...

The ship exploded. A golden star appeared where the cruiser had been. Pieces of it slammed into the nearest cruiser tearing deep into the ships innards. The wounded ships engines flared and flickered, then died. Starkiller let out all his breath, exhausted from the exertion of overloading the cruisers reactor. A laser bolt from the undamaged ship hit the rear of the Shadow throwing Starkiller forward directly into the computer console in front of him. His last moment of consciousness was blinding searing pain and a whistle of air escaping the cockpit.

It was getting hard to breathe.


	2. Prologue II: Shepard

_Author's note: All right, last chapter was all about Starkiller and him escaping Vader's grip. We are now gonna switch gears now and focus on the Mass Effect part of the story. _

_Stats for my Shepard: Male, Soldier, Spacer, War Hero, Paragon, freed the Rachni Queen, kept Wrex alive, saved Ashley, Romanced no one in ME1, saved the Council, made Anderson councilor. _

_Disclaimer: __Bioware and EA represent Mass Effect along with their inhabitants.__ Including the Genesis comic. Hope you enjoy._

_~X~_

_**Prologue II: Shepard**_

The Normandy SR-1 disengaged slip space as it entered the Terminus System. It has been a month and a half since the destruction of Sovereign. The Normandy had been on patrol for any more pockets of Geth resistance, but so far they have found nothing.

"Disengaging FTL drives. Emission sinks active." Said Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau. "Board is green…we are running on silent."

Charles Pressly, Navigator and Second-in-Command, entered the cockpit with data pad in hand. He presses a few buttons every few seconds and groaned. "We're wasting our time." He said. He dropped the data pad onto his station and sat down. "Four days searching up and down this sector and we haven't found any sign of geth activity." He started a new search on the holoterminal of his station.

"Three ships went missing in the past month." Said Joker, "Something happened to them."

"My money's on slavers." Said Pressly, "The Terminus System is crawling with them."

"Flight Lieutenant," said one of the ensigns, "I'm picking up something on the long range scanners." She paused for a brief moment as the holoterminal bleeped. "Unidentified vessel. Looks like a cruiser."

"Doesn't match any known signatures." Said Joker, the holoterminal at his station should the same thing, unknown vessel, but cruiser class.

The ensign's monitor beeped, "The cruiser is now changing its course." She said, "It's now on an intercept trajectory."

"Can't be." Said Pressly, he looked back at his monitor and noticed that the cruiser was indeed changing its course and heading straight for them. "But, the stealth systems are engaged. No geth ship could possibly…"

"It's not the geth!" shouted Joker, a scattering of red lights danced across the panel; a buzzer harshly sounded. Joker studied the display for a split second, making absolutely certain of what he was seeing, before raising every shield to full. "Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

_~X~ _

Commander John Shepard was sitting in his captain's quarters, looking over a data pad, sorting through information gathered so far on the Geth. He was a soldier in the Alliance Navy, and the very first human Spectre. And now he was proclaimed as hero of the Citadel. He never let that fame and power go to his head though; he always believed in getting the job done with minimal casualties. He did have his own way of doing things, he could persuade anyone to lower their guns or listen to his words, and they would.

Everything that had happened up to this point started when he found that beacon on Eden Prime six months ago. It was scheduled as a routine mission; of course it was called that, they didn't do anything yet. It was everything that happened along the way; the choices made, the paths that were chosen. That turned it into anything but routine.

The Alliance were testing out the Normandy, Shepard was then the XO, second-in-command under Captain David Anderson. That's when the distress call came. An Alliance patrol on Eden Prime had been attacked. They encountered something that they couldn't explain. And it was massive…whatever it was.

Shepard was ordered to lead a ground team on the surface. So he went with his Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, a loyal, by the book soldier with a talent for biotics. And a fresh new kid named Jenkins. Unfortunately for Jenkins, he was killed almost immediately after landing. They soon came across a lone survivor, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. A soldier to the core, tough, disciplined, and ready to take on anything that came her way. She joined up with Shepard and Kaidan and took them to where she lost her squad. That's when they saw it…the ship. It was like nothing Shepard had ever seen before. It was massive, scorching the colony and everything around it as it blasted away.

They followed the path of destruction to and artifact. It was the beacon, left by the long dead race known as the Protheans. The colony had dug it up, and whoever attacked them tried to take it. Chief Williams made the mistake of getting to close to beacon and it hit her with some sort if energy. Shepard grabbed her, and threw her out of the way. Then it hit him, and hard. Every muscle in his body went rigid, he couldn't move, and he was barely able to breath. His vision went dark, and then he saw something, a vision, a dream…a nightmare.

By the time he woke up, the Normandy was on it's way to the Citadel to talk to the council, and he was expected to explain what he saw. Captain Anderson and the political representative – Donnel Udina – both accompanied him. Shepard thought that with two heavyweights, they could persuade the Council that the ship he saw was a potential threat. As was the individual behind the attacks…Saren, a Turian Spectre from the planet Palaven, and the main suspect for the Eden Prime massacre. He was seen by one of the survivors from the colony, and there was some evidence suggesting that the ship was connected to Saren. Even with Udina's pointed accusations, it wasn't enough to convince the Council that one of their chosen elite Spectres would do something like that. They needed proof, which meant Shepard needed proof.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in his search. Garrus Vakarian, another Turian, wanted to help. He was a top agent from C-Sec; and despite orders from his superiors not to get involved, he was suspicious of Saren and had useful leads. More importantly, he was willing to share them. That led Shepard to Urdnot Wrex, a Krogan from the planet Tuchanka. He was the biggest and nastiest krogan bounty hunter Shepard ever saw. He turned out to be more than just a brute… he had Intel that led Shepard to a fugitive with incriminating evidence on Saren. The fugitive turned out to be an energetic little Quarian named Tali'Zorah vas Neema. She was a tech expert, with a knack for hacking; she'd…procured some information on Saren; evidence that proved Saren was dirty.

Her evidence proved that Saren was responsible for the massacre on Eden Prime, and that the immense war-ship Shepard spotted was Saren's flagship. But it went much further. Saren was trying to bring back a race of sentient machines from dark space; machines allegedly responsible for cleansing the galaxy of all organic life. They were called "Reapers".

The Reapers were blamed for wiping out all life 50,000 years ago…including the Protheans. Then they disappeared back through the Mass relays to dark space, leaving no trace that they'd ever been there. This explained why Saren wanted the beacon, and it made some sense to Shepard's visions…but not much else.

The Council wasn't convinced that the Reapers were a threat, but they agreed that Saren had to be stopped. So they stripped Saren of his Spectre status and gave Shepard the honor of becoming the first human Spectre. And his first task was to bring down Saren.

Anderson decided to stay behind; he gave up the Normandy, saying that Shepard would need it more than him. He also pointed him in a direction…Dr. Liara T'Soni, an Asari from the planet Thessia. She was a Prothean expert, adept in biotics and most importantly, daughter of Benezia, Saren's top lieutenant. Like most Asari, she was beautiful as she was intelligent; she was born with a unique ability to meld with other species. She was able to help Shepard decipher some of his vision from the beacon. Nothing was concrete, but it gave him some clues. And a new…appreciation for the Asari. It was unexpected how she could access his vision, but it wasn't at all unpleasant.

There were little concerns when it came to personal relationships. Ashley for one, she was concerned about the connection that Shepard had with Liara. As Commander, he knew that either relationship had the potential to interfere with the mission. He decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and he kept his focus on the main goal…finding Saren.

With Liara's help, the Normandy crew had a lead, Benezia. Saren had taken her to Noveria where he enslaved the queen of a dangerous race of insect-like creatures, the Rachni. He ordered Benezia to use the same technique that Liara used on Shepard to extract information from the Rachni queen.

The queen's drones were everywhere, and they weren't happy. Shepard and his squad had to fight through hundreds of them to get to Benezia. By the time they got to her, Saren was gone…with the information. Shepard tried to reason with Benezia, but Saren already indoctrinated her. She wouldn't surrender, so Liara was forced to watch her mother die in her arms.

Shepard was left with an angry Rachni queen to deal with. She claimed that her drones would do no harm if he released her. But the Rachni had terrorized the galaxy before. He couldn't do it; he wouldn't doom an entire species for past sins. The queen was true to her word, leaving and taking her army of drones with her.

With Benezia dead, Saren was quickly running out of time and places to hide. So Shepard tracked him down at his base on Virmire, but soon learned that it was more than a base of operations… it was a breeding ground. Saren was breeding an army of Krogan, and he found a cure for the Genophage, a disease inflicted on the Krogan to prevent them from breeding and taking over the galaxy. But the Krogan that Saren was breeding were slaves, mindless beasts that obeyed his will. Shepard had to destroy the base, and all its research. However, Wrex disagreed with that plan…violently.

Wrex wanted the Genophage cure for his people. Shepard tried to convince Wrex to help him destroy it, that the Krogan Saren made weren't real; but he wouldn't back down. Fortunately, Wrex was smarter than he looked; he realized that taking Saren's cure was not the way to help his people. And that Saren was the real threat.

They got to the center of the base, and they soon realized just how close Saren came to completing his plan. He was already in communication with the Reapers. Sovereign – Saren's flagship, they assumed was just a ship – was an actual Reaper. It spoke to Shepard, threatened him. He could feel the menace it had for every living thing. It wanted him dead; it wanted everything dead. Shepard knew it was capable of just that. But he couldn't understand why Saren would help it.

There was no time to think about it; Sovereign knew where they were. They had t destroy the base and get out; so Shepard split his team into two squads. He sent Ashley with one team, and Kaidan with another as a distraction. They had a nuke; and they were planning on using it. Before they were able to detonate the bomb, Saren showed up; and they fought. Shepard tried stalling Saren, distracting him to try and give his team more time. And in talking to him, he realized the truth. At first, Shepard though Saren acquired the ability to control people's actions and wills; but it wasn't him indoctrinating everyone, it was Sovereign, the Reaper, and Saren was in deeper than any other. He tried to convince Shepard that he was still in control, saying he found a way to reduce the Reaper's influence, but he was only kidding himself. Or, he believed the lies Sovereign was telling him.

Before Shepard could convince Saren to stop, he ran, leaving Shepard seconds to extract his squad mates. He tried… but he wasn't fast enough; he could only save one of them. Kaidan was a good man, and a great soldier, but he had to choose; and he chose Ashley.

That was the last time Shepard would let Saren slip away from him; he knew that the next time they met, one of them would die. With his team mostly intact, Shepard chased Saren and his army to Ilos… a long lost planet that once belonged to the Protheans. As they prepared for what would be a desperate fight, Shepard spoke to his crew. They were just one ship, against Saren's growing army; but Shepard assured his team that despite all the odds, they could defeat him. He'd never tell anyone, but Shepard had his doubts; leaving Kaidan behind hardened his resolve… but it revealed a soft spot in his defense.

They arrived on Ilos close behind Saren. Once on the planet, they discovered a Prothean databank that helped Shepard put the final pieces of his vision together. The Reapers came to the galaxy 50,000 years ago, and every 50,000 years before that; and each time, they purged the galaxy of life. The Protheans fought – and died – like every species before them. But a few survived long enough to leave a parting gift; the Protheans discovered that the Citadel was the key to controlling the Mass Relays. By sabotaging the Citadel, they found a way to close the Relays into Dark Space. Slowing the Reapers return, and giving them the time they needed to find a solution to stop them once and for all.

Saren knew this; he was leading his army to take control of the citadel, and reestablish the Relays to Dark Space… and bring the Repaers back to destroy them all.

Saren escaped to the Citadel; but Shepard and his squad followed him. It was still intact but heavily damaged when the got there. Saren had caught the Council fleets by surprise and they were only now regrouping at this point. And since Sovereign was Saren's flagship, there was little hope that the fleets could have counterattack with enough strength to take back the Citadel. Saren was done running, and Shepard was done chasing him. The Alliance and Citadel fleets battled Sovereign; Shepard cornered Saren in the Citadel Tower and confronted him. He died, believing that the Reapers would save him.

While Shepard and his squad fought to regain the Citadel, the Council's flagship, the Destiny Ascension, fell under attack. Despite Saren's death, Sovereign and Saren's army continued to fight. The Council was aboard the Destiny Ascension, and they were requesting assistance. Shepard knew that in order to help them, he had to put the Human Alliance fleet in jeopardy… It was a tough decision to make, but the Council had to be saved; they were the heart and minds of the galactic community. Without them, the fleets would be in disarray.

Even after regaining control of the of the Citadel, defeating Saren, and having the Normandy lead the combined galactic fleet, the battle with Sovereign, a single Reaper, was relentless. It took the combined fleets of humanity and the other races, but in the end, Sovereign fell; but the costs were immense.

While humanity's efforts in the war earned them their first seat on the council, it was a hollow victory. The Reapers were still out there. And Shepard knew that the fight was far from over, but as the one who led the fight against Saren, he was given new responsibilities. The choice of humanity's first councilor was left for him to decide, and he had two choices. On the one hand: Udina, the lifetime politician. Ruthless and ambitious, he could easily navigate the political land mines that could be put in front of him. The other choice: Captain Anderson, the career soldier. Tough, but fair – but a friend, someone Shepard could trust. Both were great leaders in their own right… but only one could be picked. So he picked Anderson; he didn't want the job, which was a sure sign he'd be perfect for it. No ambition to get in the way.

The war was over, the threat had passed, and in time the Council would rebuild itself. The Citadel could be repaired. Even the pain of lost friends would fade. But none of that would matter if the Reapers were still out there, and if they were all as powerful as Sovereign, they had to find a way to stop them. Which meant Shepard needed to find a way.

So he gathered his crew, took his ship, and went in search of answers. Officially, the Council said he was assigned to cleanup duty, rooting out remnants of Saren's army, just another routine mission.

_BOOM! _Suddenly the whole ship shook. Shepard was knocked violently out of his chair and hitting the floor hard. He felt woozy, shaking his head to try and regain his composure. "Joker what the hell happened?" He shouted.

_"Unknown ship just appeared out of nowhere and started firing on us. We've already lost 50% kinetic barriers, hull breaches on deck 3, weapons are offline, Pressly's dead!"_

Unknown ship appearing out of nowhere, just his luck but he could debate his luck later. Right now he had to get the distress beacon online and get the crew off before the ship blows apart. He suited up and ran out in to the mess hall, to the stasis pods where the beacon was located. Fire had already compromised most of the air onboard so he equipped his helmet and started to breath comfortably.

"Shepard!" Liara T'Soni shouted as she made her way to the commander as more of the ship fell apart around them.

"The distress beacon is ready to launch." Said Shepard.

"Will the alliance get here in time?" she asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. The ship shook violently again, knocking her off her feet but Shepard was there to catch her.

"The alliance won't abandon us." Said Shepard, more fire exploded out of exhaust vents, so he grabbed an extinguisher and threw it to Liara. While she was doing that, the monitor for the beacon shorted out, so he went to a junction box and began re-wiring, bring it back to life. "We just need to hold on. Get everyone onto the escape shuttles."

"Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't evacuate. I'm not leaving either." Liara was against leaving Shepard behind. She had a strange feeling that something bad would happen to him if she left.

"There's no time to argue." Said Shepard, "I need you to get the crew to the evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker." He took the extinguisher from her and began spraying more of the fire out.

"Shepard…"

"Liara. Go…now!"

"Aye-aye." She said. She stared at him for a short time before solemnly leaving the room.

After Shepard was sure Liara was gone, he initiated the evacuation orders in hope of getting his people out alive. He slammed his hand down hard, setting off the alarm. Moments later, the monitor beeped; the evac shuttles were out and away. _Now, time to get Joker. _He rushed down passed the stasis pods, through the burning mess hall and up the stairway to the CIC. The doorway opened with a puff of fog and Shepard stepped out; his breathing sounded loud in his ears, and the condition of the CIC struck him hard. For a moment the sky turned about him, the planet came into view from behind the Normandy. He continued forward, making his way to the bridge of the ship. An air shield blocked it off, and Joker was still in his seat.

"Come on Joker! We have to get out of here!" He shouted, but Joker wouldn't move.

"No! I won't abandon the Normandy!" He replied, "I can still save her!"

"Don't throw your life away!" Said Shepard, "The Normady's lost, going down with the ship won't change that."

Joker didn't like that answer, but he knew it was the truth. "Yeah…okay." He said, "Help me up." His monitor beeped, "They're coming around for another attack!" A blast of energy ripped through the hull. Shepard couldn't waste anymore time. He grabbed Joker by the arm and dragged him from his chair to the evac shuttle. "Ow! Watch the arm!" He shoved Joker into the shuttle and began crawling in himself. Another explosion stopped him and shot him away from the shuttle. "Shepard!" The energy blast ripped through again, blocking Shepard from his escape. With only a few seconds to spare, Shepard launched the shuttle with Joker inside.

After he rescued Joker from the Normandy, Shepard was thrown out into space severing his spinal cord and couldn't move his legs. On top of that, his suit had sprung leaks and now oxygen was escaping fast and he was plummeting towards the planet. No matter how much he struggled he knew it would not change the predicament he was in. So he closed his eyes and waited for his fate…

_~X~_


End file.
